Grain-car door



July 31, 1923.

1,463,724 A. POKORNY l GRAIN CAR DOOR originaly Filed Jun'e 3o 1922 2sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 3

FeG. 7. I

@Montag Patented duly 3l, i923..

" unire i, itSgZZd ANTON POKORNY, F YNDMER-E, NORTH DAKOTA.

GRAlN-CAR DOOR.

Application filed. .Tune 30, 1922, Serial No. 571,899. Renewed .Tune 18,1923.

To all whom t may concern: n

Be it known that l, ANTON Poironnr, a citizen of the United States otAmerica, residing at VVyndmere, in the county oi Ftichland and State ofNorth Dakota, have invented certain new and useful improvements inGrain-Car Doors, ot which the Yfollowing is a specification.

rlhis invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in graincar doors, and has particular reference to a door t the sliding typethat is adapted to be moved upwardly to occupy a position beneath theroof of the car when the doorway is opened.

The invention embodies in a sliding grain car door of the above type, adoor including a plurality of hingedly connected panel or slat membersslidable in perpendicular guide ways adjacent the side door openings ofthe car, with the panels movable relative to each other and slidableinto a curved guideway adjacent the root of the car when in an openposition. j

A further obj ect of the invention is to provide a sliding grain cardoor formed of hinged panel sections with a drum and cable mechanismassociated therewith for operating the same.

With these general objects in view and others that will appear as thenature of the invention is better understood, the saine consists in thenovel construction, combination and arrangement ot parts hereinaftermore fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, andpointed out in the appended claim.

ln the accompanying drawings forming a part of the application and inwhich like designating characters reifer to corresponding partsthroughout the several views:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of a freight car equipped with thepresent form of improved sliding door,

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view taken on line ll-ll oit Figure 1showing the sliding door formed of hinged panel sections and the shaftsupported drums with the cable connections between the sliding door andthe drums, j

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on line IiP-lll of Figure 1 showingone of the sliding doors in its lower closed position with the trap doorin the top of the car permitting access to the drum operating mechanism,

Figure s is a fragmentary perspective view of one of the guides for thesliding door,

Figure 5 is a fragmentary front elevational view of a modified form otdoor construction showing overlapped panel sections and the linkconnections between adjacent panel sections,

rFigure 6 is an edge elevational view of the door shown in Figure 5, and

Figure 7 is a fragmentary iront elevational view of another modified'form of door showing flexible rope sections between adjacent panelsections.

Referring more in detail to the accompanying drawing, and particularlyto Figures 1 to li, there is illustrated a grain car embodying a floor1, side and end walls 2 and 3 respectively, and the usual slanting rootsections 1. The opposite side walls 2 are provided with door openings 5closed by outwardly positioned sliding doors 6 oit ordinaryconstruction. is shown in Figure 3, the sides ot the door opening 5receive perpendicular posts 7 cooperating with the grain door to bedescribed.

The grain door is :termed of panel sections 8 held together at theiradjacent edges as at 9 and are vertically slidable at a point adjacentthe inner sides of the door opening 5. A guide trame is associated witheach side of the door opening and embodies an angle strip having a sidesection 10 secured tothe side wall 2 adjacent the post 7 and beingcurved inwardly at its upper end lor attachment to the adjacent root'section 4 as shown in Figures 1 and 2, rThe other side section 11 of theangle strip overlies and is spaced from the post 7 as shown in Figure 3and is coextensive with the side section 10 and terminates at thelongitudinal center or the car roof as shown in Figure 1. As shown inFigure t, the guide strip is preferably formed of a single piece, beingof inverted substantially U-shaped torination. The sectional door isslidably mounted with the side edges overlapped by the side sections 11of the guide strip and has means associated therewith for raising andlowering the same.

independently operating door mechanism is associated with each door, andincludes a shaft 12 having brackets 13 depending from the roof sections4 adjacent the door opening 5, and has fixed to each end thereof awinding drum 14, a cable 15 has one end thereof secured to the drum 1liwhile the other end lli) is secured as at 16 to the upper panel section8 of the door as shown in Figures 1 and 2. One end of the shaft 12carries a cranl handle 17 by which the shaft and drums 14 supportedthereby may be rotated. To permit access to the crank handle 17, theroof section 4 is provided with a trap door opening 18 closed by a cover19 as shown in F igure 3, the crank handle 17 being disposed directlybeneath the trap door opening 18 and readily accessible for operation.

F rom the above detailed description of the device. it is believed thatthe construction and operation thereof will at once be apf aarent itbein@` noted that when either of l 5 D the covers 19 is removed from thetrap doors 18, eitherl of the shafts 12 associated with the oppositesliding doors may be operated by the crank handle 17 for raising thesectional door upwardly from the door opening 5 to cause the same tooccupy a position adjacent uthe roof section l-'as shown in Fig# ures 1and 3, the sliding doors 6 being of the ordinary construction andoperated in the usual manner eXteriorly of the car. The weight of thesectional door will cause the same to be lowered to its closed position,and the reverse rotation of the shaft 12 and unwinding of the cable 15from the drum 14; will also permit the lowering movement of the door.

Figures 1 and 2 show the panel sections of the door having the adjacentedges in abutting relation, while Figures 5 and 6 show a modified formof door wherein the adjacent edges of the panel sections 8a are arrangedin overlapping relation. The connecting means between the panelsections, as shown in Figures 5 and 'embody link members secured toclips 21 carried by the ends of the panel sections 8@l with the adjacentends of the link members loosely connected together,

permitting` relative movement of the panel sections S1 when the saineare received in the upper curved sections of the guide strips. Theoperating cable 15 is secured to the upper panel section 8 as is showninr connection with the preferred form of the invention.

In Figure 7, the panel sections 8a are arranged in overlapping relation,while the ends of the panel sections 8a are provided with clips 21 thatconfine arope section 22 having spaced balls secured thereto, one ateach end of the clip having the intermediate cord portion between thepanel sections 8a permitting relative movement of' the panel sections.

While the form of they invention herein shown and described is what isbelieved to be the preferred embodiment thereof, it is nevertheless tobe understood that various forms, modifications and arrangements of theparts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention as claimed.

Having thus fully described the invention, what i claim as new 1s In adoor for grain cars, a car providedwith side door openings, guide stripsVfor, each side door opening extending inwardly vat their upper ends andengaging the roof of the car, a panel door slidable in the guidestrips,y a shaft journaled adjacent the car roof, a drum secured to eachend of the shaft,a crank handle secured to one end of the shaft, cableconnections between thedrums and the upper panel of the door, and saidcar roof having a trap door opening therein overlying the crank handlecarried by said shaft. j

ln testimony whereof I affix my signature.

ANTON POKORNY. Y

